Bayerische Staatsbrauerei Weihenstephan

These photos were taken Friday evening at the 2nd Annual Oktoberfest, which was held at the Astro Pub in Whole Foods Market, Playa Vista. They had a pretty nice turnout which was probably due in part to the pleasant weather which resulted in a lot of foot traffic; this combined with the aroma of German food and the sound of oompah music resulted in many passersby making a detour to join the festivities.

For a mere $20.00 attendees were able to have seven pours of various Oktoberfest brews including Goose Island, Spaten, Becks, Karl Strauss, Firestone Walker, Hofbräu and Weihenstephan. To go along with the bier there were pretzel bites, German potatoes, sauerkraut, and your choice of schnitzel or bacon wrapped brats.

The Astro Pub is located at 12746 W. Jefferson Boulevard in the Whole Foods Market, Playa Vista. Their beer buyer, Raul Moran puts on various beer events every few months so you might want to follow the Whole Foods Facebook page to be kept in the loop. He also keeps a nice selection of craft beer on tap and available to takeout. Prost! Continue reading →

On June 11, 2106 the Steinhaus at Alpine Village in Torrance will host their 3rd Annual Euro Bierfest from 12:00-4:00 PM. Unlike their Kraft Bierfest, LA Local or even Oktoberfest, all the beer for this event will come from various parts of Europe. I do not have the final list available to me at the time of this writing, but prior events featured ciders, sours, Pilsners, stouts, porters, guezes, tripels, quads and various bocks from countries such as France, Belgium, Italy, Germany, Iceland, England, Czech Republic and Sweden.

On Saturday evening, the new Whole Foods Market in Playa Vista held a mini-Oktoberfest at their Astro Pub bar, which is a full bar complete with 24 craft beers on tap; with 14 of them dedicated to local breweries. The Oktoberfest was the second in a series of tap takeovers, beer dinners and various beer events planned by Raul Moran, the beer buyer for Whole Foods, Playa Vista.

The evening consisted of Oktoberfest style beers featuring such breweries as Three Weavers, Sierra Nevada, Ballast Point, Goose Island, Spaten, Weihenstephan and Hofbräuhaus. Also included in the price of admission was plenty of schnitzel, sauerkraut, brats and giant pretzels. Piped in German music resulted in spontaneous breakouts of the ever popular Chicken Dance. There was also plenty of swag available for anyone that wanted it. They had a moderate turnout, and everyone that attended seemed to be having a good time making new friends while enjoying the food and beer.

The Astro Pub is located in the front of the Whole Foods Market, Playa Vista at 12746 W. Jefferson Boulevard. As I mentioned, Moran plans on having a series of beer dinners and tap takeovers every couple of weeks. I would suggest following the Whole Foods Facebook page to be kept in the loop. Prost! Continue reading →

UPDATE: Effective June 1, online prices for tickets has increased to $45. Use the NEW PROMO CODE: EURCBGA to save $7.50 per ticket. This expires June 26

Join us at the 2nd Annual Euro Bierfest

On Saturday June 27, The Alpine Village Inn in Torrance will hold their 2nd Annual Euro Bierfest. This beer festival will consist of craft beers from all over Europe, including Belgium, Germany, England, Scotland, Iceland, Italy, France and the Czech Republic. If you attended last year, you know what a good time it was; if you didn’t, you don’t want to miss two in a row.

As I look through the partial list of breweries scheduled to be represented I see Chimay, Silly, Het Anker, Einstok, Orkney, Bayerische Staatsbrauerei Weihenstephan and Courage Brewery included. While this event will definitely be light on IPAs there will be lots of ciders, sours, Pilsners, stouts, porters, guezes, tripels, quads and various bocks to try. The first Euro Bierfest provided about 50 brews to 300 attendees and it was a very fun event. If history has proven anything, this 2nd Annual Euro Bierfest will be bigger and better than last year. To help make things a little easier at the door, this event will begin at 11:00 AM.